A screen capture of the Fight the New Drug website promotes their recent campaign, #NoPornovember.

How to spread the word about #NoPornovember

Porn has corrupted the sexuality of my generation. Even those who
have managed to avoid explicit videos or pictures know many who haven’t. We
know friends struggling to stop. But more likely, we know dozens of people who
think watching porn is totally normal. Because in our culture, it is.

As Catholics, we understand that pornography is a distortion of
our God-given sexuality. But maybe, we don't know how to explain that.
#NoPornovember is about raising awareness that pornography hurts people in a
number of ways. The organization spearheading the movement, Fight the New Drug,
does a great job of making that mission feel cool. Because, let’s face it,
talking about pornography is often uncomfortable.

Using information from their informative site, here are some
quick facts you can use to explain why pornography is so harmful. Each point is
the slogan of one of Fight the New Drug’s popular T-shirts.

Porn Kills Love

Simple, to the point and sadly, true. Those who watch porn report
being less in love with their significant other, and become more critical of
their partner’s appearance and sexual performance. Because pornography
frequently portrays violence toward women, users are more likely to imitate
that behavior than non-users. More than half of divorce cases involve one party
having an obsessive interest in pornography.

Don’t Fill Your Head with Lies

Pornography is far from realistic, yet many teenagers grow up
today with much of their sexual knowledge coming from pornography. Teenagers
who watch pornography are more likely to have sex earlier and with more people.
And the more they watch, the more they need to watch to get the same dopamine
high they received before. Porn’s addictive and escalating nature is what
inspired the group to name themselves, “Fight the New Drug.”

Stop the Demand

The porn industry supports sexual trafficking because it’s nearly
impossible to know if the actors are willing participants or victims of a
terrible crime. It also encourages people to leave their computer and seek out
a real-life partner — studies show that those who seek out prostitutes are
twice as likely to be pornography users.

No one wants to sabotage their romantic relationship, live in a
fantasy world or support human trafficking. Porn does all three, and more. Visit
the social media accounts of Fight the New Drug (#NoPornovember ) and Arlington
Young Adult Ministry to find easy-to-share messages. Or
better yet, start talking about it, face to face.

Bishop Paul S. Loverde has been a trailblazer for the movement
against pornography with his pastoral letter, “Bought with a Price.” To read it
and find other Catholic resources on porn addiction, go here.